Romania's biggest real estate project ever grabs investor interest

The Esplanada real estate project to be located in the Unirea Blvd area of Bucharest is set to turn into a commercial and business centre worth more than 350 million euros. It has thus attracted interest from numerous developers, financing institutions and Romanian businesspeople.

Over 40 investors have bought the task book for the project, including big real estate players such as TriGranit and GTC International, sources close to the project told Ziarul Financiar.

The land where the centre will be built (across the street from the Connex headquarters) belongs to the Ministry of Transport, which in April started procedures to close a public-private partnership with an investor or an association of investors.

The task book for the project was sold to the interested parties in April, while developers and funding institutions should submit the letters of intent before July 15, 2004.

Esplanada is Romania’s biggest real estate project ever.

The total area of land awaiting the future developer stands at around 110,000 square metres, while the Ministry of Transport estimates that the total surface to be constructed will be of more than 330,000 square metres. The land is worth some 26.57 million euros, with the constructions to be worth 350 million euros.

Among the big developers, the companies that voiced most interest were TriGranit, part of the real-estate giant Trizec Hahn, and GTC International, the real estate division of Israeli financial group Kardan.

“We are looking into several development opportunities for Romania. The public-private partnership with the Ministry of Transport, in the Unirii area, is one of them,” Todd Cowan, general manager of TriGranit Development Corporation, one of the biggest real estate companies in Central and Eastern Europe (headquartered in Budapest) told Ziarul Financiar.

TriGranit receives financing from the investment fund AIG New Europe Fund, part of the American financial group AIG, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The company has developed projects worth 600 million euros in Central and Eastern Europe, with their final value set to go up to two billion euros.

GTC International officials in Romania made no comment about their interest in the Esplanada project by press time. GTC International took its first step in Romania with an office building – Europe House (located in Bucharest, near Piata Victoriei), in which it invested $23 million, later selling it to the Austrian group Europolis for $30 million. GTC International’s second project (currently being developed) is another office building, America House, which will demand investments worth 50 million euros. Company officials have recently said they will not stop at office buildings and will also become involved in commercial and residential projects.

Romanian businessmen are also interested in the Esplanada project.

“I intend to invest in this project; it benefits from a great location and the Romanian real estate market is poised for significant growth in the next few years,” said businessman George Copos, owner of the Ana Group.

Copos said he was interested in joining the project’s financing consortium, after the developer is appointed. laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro